> As for the game on Saturday, the Gopher's were lucky they did not have to play
> Sunday. UND, despite its poor record, matched up very well with Minnesota.
> They seemed to keep the Gophers off stride, and almost pulled the game out.
> >From Lisa and my seats, near the Gopher net in the 1st,3rd and OT, UND almost
> won twice in OT, but since they did not, it is a moot point. Not so moot, is
> the Gophers attempt to sit on a one goal lead for 7 minutes. They did not pull
> it off on Saturday, and they won't pull it off for the rest of the season if
> they try it. From watching the Red try it over many years, it is a bad habit
> to get into. Coach Woog had better make sure that his team plays 60 minutes if
I listened to the post game on the radio and Woog took the blame for
the "sittting on the lead" thing. Specifically, he said that he changed the
checking scheme with about 5 minutes to go because he was worried about Greg
Johnson slipping behind the defense and getting a break away. (Anyone who has
played North Dakota knows that this is one of their favorite tacticts.) He
said that the more passive defensive scheme gave North Dakota the momentum
and he felt it was a mistake.
UND does seem to match up well with the Gophers. Personally, I can't
understand why their record is so bad. They always play pretty good against
the Gophers. Then again, in the WCHA, everyone "gets up" for Minnesota.
It I think UND has the kind of team that can rise up and beat
anyone on a given night, but doesn't sustain the quality of play needed for
week in and week out success. Anyone else with thoughts on the Sioux?
By the way, speaking of hot teams, the Gophers have gone 9-1-2 in
their last 12. The main difference? All the defensemen are healthy and,
for the first time this year, both goalies are playing VERY well.
Let's go GOPHERS
Gary Hatfield
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"RAH! RAH! RAH! SKI_U_MAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"
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